Overview
- The inquiry began after airport security at Ezeiza questioned four men bound for Ukraine whose separate interviews showed contradictory stories, prompting a federal probe that started in March 2026.
- Interpol issued a regional 'Alerta Morada' on July 23 warning about networks recruiting ex‑police, ex‑military and vulnerable people for conflict zones, and investigators used that intelligence in the case.
- Federal officers raided a home in Tigre in late July and arrested 45‑year‑old Griselda Inés Ortiz, a former Buenos Aires police agent, seizing mobile devices, tactical gear and evidence of a crypto platform with funds frozen by court order.
- Ortiz’s partner, identified as Jorge Otero, is believed to have left Argentina for Brazil on June 29 and remains at large while prosecutors analyse electronic records to identify other recruits and organisers.
- Authorities say recruits were enticed through social media and encrypted apps with promises of high pay and false job covers, raising indicators that consent was vitiated and that the transfers could meet trafficking and forced‑labour definitions.